The Gbolomotin community in Ovia South West Local Council of Edo State has denied involvement in the recent killings that erupted from clashes with migrant Yoruba cocoa farmers.

While police authorities reported five fatalities, eyewitness accounts suggest the death toll exceeds a dozen. In a statement released by community leader Karaem Ebimobobowei in Benin City, the Gbolomotin people alleged long-standing harassment and encroachment by the cocoa farmers, whom they accused of violating earlier land agreements. Ebimobobowei claimed the migrant farmers expanded beyond the areas originally allocated for their cash crops, taking over uncultivated lands reserved for Ijaw communities.

The statement accused the cocoa farmers of forming a vigilante group to enforce control over the area. “Over the years, the Yoruba farmers began accusing Ijaw farmers of stealing their cocoa, an unfounded allegation,” Ebimobobowei said. He added that the vigilante group barred Gbolomotin indigenes from using roads and footpaths leading to other Ijaw villages, attacking anyone they encountered, including women.

Tensions reportedly escalated last year when a young Ijaw man was killed by the vigilante group while returning from a funeral in Jide Village. According to Ebimobobowei, when eyewitnesses attempted to report the incident, they were unjustly arrested, further fuelling distrust in law enforcement. He also alleged that another youth, an Urhobo man harvesting wild palm trees, was shot dead by the vigilante, with the matter later dismissed by the police.

The latest violence, the statement claimed, was sparked when Ijaw youths attempted to rescue their people during an attack but were ambushed by the cocoa farmers and their vigilante group. “The youth mobilised to search for their missing brothers and were ambushed again,” Ebimobobowei stated. “We lost four youths, with two bodies taken away by the fleeing vigilantes, while several others sustained gunshot injuries.”

The community urged the government and security agencies to conduct an impartial investigation, emphasising their right to live peacefully and work in their homeland.